Disappointing news for space enthusiasts: Cosmos 1, which was to have been the first solar-sail spacecraft, has disappeared and was most likely destroyed following its launch yesterday aboard a Russian-made ICBM. The Planetary Society, the private organization that planned and provided most of the funding for the project, issued a statement this morning:

In the past twenty-four hours, the Russian space agency (RKA) has made a tentative conclusion that the Volna rocket carrying Cosmos 1 failed during the firing of the first stage. This would mean that Cosmos 1 is lost.

 

While it is likely that this conclusion is correct, there are some inconsistent indications from information received from other sources. The Cosmos 1 team observed what appear to be signals, that looks like they are from the spacecraft when it was over the first three ground stations and some Doppler data over one of these stations. This might indicate that Cosmos 1 made it into orbit, but probably a lower one than intended. The project team now considers this to be a very small probability. But because there is a slim chance that it might be so, efforts to contact and track the spacecraft continue. We are working with US Strategic Command to provide additional information in a day or so.

 

If the spacecraft made it to orbit, its autonomous program might be working, and after 4 days the sails could automatically deploy. While the chances of this are very, very small, we still encourage optical observers to see if the sail can be seen after that time.

Emily Lakdawalla, the Society’s resident blogger, remains upbeat in the face of this unfortunate development. She reminds us that, “Failures happen in space exploration; if you can’t accept that you have to stay away from it. …by its very nature, pushing frontiers generates risk,” and then goes on to say, “Maybe our spacecraft failed, but even so, the mission didn’t, as far as I’m concerned. I feel like we really did something here. …I actually still feel pretty good, because of the incredible amount of support that we have received. Even the members of the media who were here, watching and waiting for news, are still rooting for us, still expressing hope that our spacecraft is still out there. The Planetary Society’s mission is, in part, to inspire the public, and it seems we may have done that through the dramatic developments of yesterday’s launch. I’m proud of that.” Noble words, and I hope she really feels the way she says she does.

I, however, am very unhappy about the project’s failure. I’ve been aware of this effort to try something new in space for a couple of years now, and I was really looking forward to seeing it happen. (If you’ll recall, I mentioned the impending launch about two weeks ago.) The concept of a solar sail strikes me as almost unspeakably elegant: riding to another planet or even another star system on a gentle wave of light. A vehicle that gets where it wants to go by harmonizing with the universe instead of trying to outmuscle it, as a rocket does. What could be more poetic, or more beautiful? The Cosmos 1 project appealed to the artist in me.

In addition, I liked the idea that this particular venture was largely funded by ordinary people who simply believed in an idea. Not by NASA, not even by some incredibly rich philanthropist looking for something to occupy his jaded attentions (no offense to gentlemen like Richard Branson or Burt Rutan), but by working folks just like myself, people who think that space exploration is worthwhile and exciting, and who wanted to be part of pushing the envelope. Someone will eventually try the sail idea again, and keep on trying it until it’s either disproved or superseded by a working hyperdrive, but I hope that when the next attempt does occur, it again includes private citizens. Because I think the public needs to be inspired by something that’s bigger than “Must-See TV,” and because I think getting the public involved is probably the only way the final frontier is ever really going to be opened.

If there’s any justice at all, the next attempt will be with a Cosmos 2.

Hopefully on that occasion the Planetary Society won’t rely on dodgy Soviet leftovers to get into orbit, though…